Unexpected
by starstruckKT
Summary: Becoming a witch is daunting enough but how about sharing a room with a stuck up roommate and falling for the school trouble maker. Yeah life sucks for Katie Bell, luckily she can always rely on her friends to watch her back when she can't.
1. The Necklace

Night was falling fast as the procession of boats passed across the glassy surface of the lake. Pairs of eyes gazed up at the looming castle which glowed ethereal silver in the moonlight. There wasn't a single jaw that wasn't hanging open, save for that of Hagrid, keeper of keys at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Katie Bell was among the gawking first years who were now getting out of the enchanted wooden boats and were being ferried toward the humongous wooden doors leading to the entrance hall. The brown haired girl felt overwhelmed by all the conflicting feelings she was experiencing. She could feel herself being jostled about by the rest of the eleven year olds.

Suddenly she felt an elbow slam into her side and she was sent flying to the side. Her feet skittered over the loose rocks and pebbles on the path and she was unable to regain her footing. With a final unceremonious wobble she collapsed half in and half out of a bush, nearly hitting the wall. Katie's cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment.

After the initial shock wore off, the startled girl cracked open an eye. She realised that she was alone. Relief washed over her as she realised that no one had seen her ungraceful topple into the bush. That would have been a terrible initial idea to give people of her, that she was a clumsy idiot. She quickly pushed herself to her knees and began to brush little bits of shrubbery off of her robes. Something sparkling caught her attention. It was half hidden but now that she had destroyed half of the bush it was easy to see. It seemed to be some sort of jewel.

Reaching down Katie realised that there was a thin, gold chain attached to the stone. She lifted the necklace to her eyes and inspected the dark green stone which seemed to be emitting a soft grass green glow all by itself. It made Katie feel happy for some unknown reason.

Voices drifted out of the now open doors of the school.

'How could you lose one of the first years already Hagrid, honestly you only have them for about 5 minutes.'

'I'm sorry professor but she must have slipped off, please don't tell Dumbledore he'll kick me out for sure and there ain't no where else I will be welcome.'

'Just find her,' Came the weary response.

Katie realised that between the fall and the discovery of the necklace a fairly worrying amount of time had passed. She certainly didn't want to be 'the loser who got lost on a 10 meter path' any more than she wanted to be 'the clumsy girl who fell in a bush' so she stuffed the necklace in her pocket and ran towards the gruff voice muttering about being fired.

**Hope you liked the first chapter, I have already written the next one so I just need to type it up and update so hopefully it will be with you soon. Please review because it makes me so happy, but if you don't want to I hope you will keep reading anyway!**

**XXKTXX**


	2. The Roommates

**Hey readers, not that there are many of you, enjoy this new chapter. And thanks for reviewing my first chapter if you were one of the three who did, you guys are my favourites **

The first year Gryffindor dorm room was empty when Katie pushed the door open and she sighed in relief. The feast had been wonderful but there had been so many people, faces and names and she was still feeling slightly overwhelmed by it all. Being muggle born she was still getting used to the fact that there was such a thing as magic and that it could be used to make fully cooked roast chickens dance the Can Can, just down the table from her at dinner.

'I can't believe I am here!' she thought as she flopped down onto the duvet of one of the five four poster beds which sat in the room. She lay back on the bed, pulling of her black converse shoes and socks and flinging them away, hardly caring where they landed. She redrew the curtains around the bed and listened to the silence around her…

The door was flung open and the sound of chattering reached Katie's ear and she bit back a disappointed groan. She listened in silence as what she could only assume were her new room mates entered.

'Mum said that as her favourite, I was allowed to have first pick of the beds here.'

The voice was snotty and had a distinct haughtiness to it. Katie frowned, she found it difficult enough to get along with people, they always found her too abrupt or disliked her style. It was even harder when the other person was bossy, but what was the saying? 'Never judge a book by it's cover', well in this case it was 'Never judge a room mate by their stuck up voice.'

The two girls obviously hadn't realised that they weren't alone, and were still discussing sleeping arrangements.

'That is such a lie but out of curiosity, which bed would you prefer?' Katie was pleased that the other girl's voice was much softer and sweeter than that of the first girl.

'The one on the far right,' Came the reply.

'Oh well that's fine by me. I had my eye on the on the bed second from the left, it has the window with the best view. Wow, we will have to report back to mum saying that we actually made a decision without ripping out each other's throats, that's a first.'

'Yeah, whatever.' There was a sound of feet getting closer and Katie realised that she occupied one of the desired beds. More precisely the one picked out by the snotty sounding girl. Swinging her legs off of the bed she pulled back the hangings which had been hiding her.

The two girls were looking at her, seemingly shocked by her sudden appearance. They were obviously twins, they had freakishly similar faces. Both had blonde hair but the taller of the two had hers hanging loosely to her waist while the smaller had hers tied in a ponytail which fell just past her shoulders. The taller also wore glasses where the smaller did not.

'Hello' Katie began giving a half wave at the girls.

'Oh hello,' It was the smaller girl who replied.

'I guess were roommates then,' Katie said trying to sound as friendly as possible, but the situation was becoming awkward very quickly. 'I'm Katie, Katie Bell by the way.'

'Oh, I'm Helena May Carter and this is my twin sister Gwen.' Again it was the smaller girl, Helena May, who spoke. Katie glanced toward Gwen and was surprised to be met with a frosty stare.

'You have your stuff on my bed… Move it!'

Katie was stunned, that was not what she had expected. Apparently her first opinion of Gwen was correct, she was a rude, stuck up cow and Katie had the pleasure of sharing a room with her. She looked at Gwen incredulously.

'… No, I got here first; you have no right to tell me to move. You seriously need to work on your people skills.' And with that she walked back to her bed calling 'Nice to meet you Helena May,' over her shoulder. She had been pleasant enough and shouldn't be blamed for her sister's bad etiquette.

A short while later, Katie heard Gwen drag Helena May down to the common room to 'mingle' which was stupid seeing as the first years had been told that they had to go straight to their rooms that first night because they had a big day to follow. Helena May also seemed to think it was stupid but her protests were ignored.

Katie decided an early night was probably best and got out of her bed to change. She noticed that Gwen had set up her things on the bed next to her sisters on the far left. It was the furthest she could get from Katie in the small room. She smirked amusedly to herself as she changed from her robes into old swear pants and a hoodie. As she emptied her robe pockets (which she had filled with sweets from desert) her fingers brushed the necklace which she had forgotten about in all the excitement. She pulled it out and threw it onto the bed while she went to brush her teeth.

When she came back , Katie couldn't see the necklace and began hunting around the bed assuming that she had thrown it too hard and that it had fallen off. As she slid under the bed for a better view she stopped dead in her tracks. She could clearly see a pair of feet on the other side of the bed. There had defiantly been no one else in the room when she had re entered after brushing her teeth, and she hadn't heard any one come in.

Slowly she pulled out from under the bed and rose wearily to her feet. She was suddenly feeling rather scared of who she would see.

There stood a girl, about Katie's age, beaming at her. Her green eyes shone and she wore a forest green dress with a darker green bodice stitched onto it. It fell to her knees and she was bare foot. Her auburn hair was slightly curly around her face and there was a light smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her features were small and delicate just like the rest of the girl. The weirdest thing however, was the fact that this strange girl, who had appeared out of no where to stand beaming over Katie's bed while she was searching under it, was wearing Katie's lost necklace around her neck.

**Hope that you like this so far, I'll try and write more soon.**


	3. Who is she?

**So… I hope this isn't going to slowly, I will try to pick it up. Enjoy!**

'Hiya' the girl said, still beaming at Katie. Her smile was so bright it was almost blinding and this did nothing to calm Katie's nervousness and confusion.

'Who the _hell_ are you?' Ok so maybe that was a bit harsh, but give the girl some slack, she was thoroughly freaked out by the turn of events. The girl however didn't seem to take offence, instead she carried on smiling.

'Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Crystal. You must be my new friend.' Crystal looked as though she were about to launch herself at Katie in a hug, so the brunette began subtly edging backwards to widen the space between them.

'Right, _Crystal,_ why are you wearing my necklace?'

Confusion flitted across Crystal's face until her hand flew up to grasp the green jewel hanging around her neck. She began to giggle.

'This isn't yours silly, it's _mine_.' Catching the look Katie was giving her, one that clearly said 'oh good lord this girl is insane, run', she quickly added 'I'm not crazy, seriously'

Katie faintly heard her mutter 'Oh, why does this _always_ happen, I'm rubbish at explaining. Oh well I owe him a visit anyhow, I hope he's still here,' before she was grabbed by the arm and dragged from the room by the surprisingly strong girl. As they reached the door frame, Katie asked,

'Wait Crystal let go! Where are we going,'

'Oh shush you, we're going to see professor Dumbledore of course.' Then Katie was flying out of her dorm into the corridor. Just before they came to the stairs leading to the common room which was apparently still packed with people if the noise was anything to go by, Katie managed to dig in her heels, grab one of the candle brackets and bring the pair to a stop.

'Are you clinically _insane_? It's way past first year curfew, we're meant to be asleep. We can't go traipsing around school at night we'll get in so much trouble and I was hoping I could maybe make it through a night before I got a detention. It's our first day… wait are you even a student?

'Technically… no, I'm not a student. I'm just a weird girl who appeared in your room, 'stole' your necklace and is now dragging you through the school in your pyjamas, alright?'

Katie looked down, she was indeed still in her pjs, great! She looked back up at the auburn haired girl who was looking at her expectantly.

'Oh, what the hell.' She sighed extending her arm once more, which was promptly grabbed with a grin and the two girls were off again running through the common room.

**These chapters are short, I'm sorry but hopefully the speed of update will pacify you. Again hopefully the next chapter will be up again today or tomorrow. Thanks for reading, in the next chapter you briefly see Fred (in the common room) and you find out who Crystal really is.**

**XOXO KT**


	4. Dumbledore's Office

**I'm so sorry it has been so long in coming but I'm in the middle of GCSEs and free time has been limited. I hope this chapter is acceptable and it has the first glimpse of the wonderful Fred Weasley in all his second year glory.**

Katie was pulled through the common room where she quickly caught a glimpse of Gwen and Helena May. Helena was leaning awkwardly on one of the walls, looking like she would happily give her arm to be anywhere else. Gwen, however, was crouched on the floor next to a coffee table where three boys were sitting, playing some kind of card game. One of the boys was dreadlocked and the other two were ginger, obviously twins by their startlingly similar appearances. Gwen's mouth was moving at a rapid pace, she was barely stopping to draw breath. All three boys were clearly blocking her out but attempting to appear interested. One of the twins looked like he wanted to hit her and tell her to 'shut up' but was obviously too much of a gentleman to do so.

As she watched the scene transpire, the severely annoyed twin looked up... and straight at Katie. She saw his eyes crinkle in confusion as he took in the two girls, one pulling the other out of the common room. For a second Katie worried that he would stop them but instead he smirked his approval and winked at her. She felt her heart beat quicken, but was saved from the embarrassment of blushing like the schoolgirl she was because they had finally reached the portrait hole and were out in the freezing corridor.

It soon became clear that Crystal was no stranger to the Hogwarts halls. She dragged Katie through hidden portrait holes, down staircases, through corridors without having to stop and consider her next move. For this Katie was thankful, because she was so focussed on not tripping over her own feet that she hadn't had time to panic about where she was going or about the possibility of being caught. And of course it kept her mind off of the winking twin, but that was something she was not about to admit.

She was so deep in thought that she crashed into Crystal as she eventually stopped outside a statue. Rubbing her arms to restore heat to them, Katie heard Crystal say 'peppermint,' to the statue. She probably shouldn't have been, but she was surprised when the statue began to revolve and a staircase became visible. She didn't realise she was gawking at it until Crystal's face appeared back around the staircase she had already ascended and whistled at her, snapping her out of her reverie. She followed the strange girl up the stairs, finally remembering that this was the headmaster's office. Her stomach became heavy at the thought.

When she reached the door at the top, Crystal had already knocked and was opening the door. Katie followed her in feeling apprehensive. She glanced around at the various objects in the crowded room. They seemed to be making a vague humming noise which suited the cosy room. Everything about the room was odd, from the potion bottles, piles of parchment or the bright orange bird perched on a flower pot which contained a flower that spewed blue spores every 30 seconds, showering the bird with blue sparkles.

'Ah Crystal I thought that you might be back this year' The voice came from the back of the room, where a large oak desk was positioned. There sat Dumbledore, half moon glasses perched on his nose concealing sparkling grey eyes. He was smiling at the girls. He turned to Katie.

'You are one of the new Gryffindor first years aren't you, Katie Bell if memory serves?'

'Yes, that's me... sir?' Katie replied, not quite sure how to act so opting for polite.

'Sit down girls I'm sure you have many questions Katie, you must be confused. They always are aren't they Crystal?'

'Quite right professor, but Katie seems to be more confrontational than confused.' Dumbledore glanced at Katie with raised eyebrows and she smiled sheepishly looking down. He chuckled.

'Well, where to begin? Perhaps the necklace would be the most obvious, yes? I assume that you found it and that you assumed that Crystal stole it when you saw her wearing it' After a nod he continued.

'Unfortunately that is the conclusion most people draw, however it is incorrect. The necklace is, like most things in this school, magical. This particular object is connected to Crystal. It is complicated but I guess you could say it is her soul. Which brings us to the fact that Crystal isn't technically human, she's a Faye.'

Katie gasped, eyes whipping around to look at Crystal who was smirking at her with barely concealed amusement at her reaction. Dumbledore continued.

'For reasons which are too many to get into now, the wizarding world tends to have negative opinions of Fayes and therefore the Fayes have isolated themselves from us. Very few people meet Fayes nowadays which is a shame. However around 200 years ago a previous headmaster came across a Faye and after a discussion about the loss of contact the Faye decided to come to this school and study as a student. Every decade or so she comes back to study here after she chooses a student who she feels would be a worthy friend. And that would be you this time.'

The words were buzzing around her head, refusing to settle or make sense. Finally she shook her head and turned to the Faye.

'So you chose me? Why? I haven't exactly been nice to you between the accusation of stealing a necklace and calling you weird.'

Crystal shrugged and simply replied 'You have a kind heart.' Causing Katie to blush and turn away, she was eternally grateful when Crystal changed the subject.

'Professor, how is Heather? I have missed her'

'Ah Crystal, I regret to inform you that owls do not tend to live as long as humans and shortly after your last graduation Heather died in her sleep. I promise you that she had a proper funeral, your friend Molly Crosby even read a eulogy. It was all very tasteful, tears were shed and even the weather seemed to mourn the loss of such a spirited owl.'

There were tears in Crystal's eyes as she nodded and muttered her thanks. Katie was horrified when she let out a rather loud yawn which interrupted her friend's mourning. This then prompted Crystal to yawn as well, as yawns often do, although Crystal's was considerably more dignified.

'Perhaps bed is the proper place for you two right now, it must have been a tough night for both of you between deceased owls and enlightening conversations. It has also come to my attention that it is well passed first year first day curfew, but I suppose that can be overlooked due to the odd circumstances.'

'Thank you professor.' Katie managed to stutter out while fighting back another yawn. She rose to her feet, dragging Crystal with her, too tired to note the change in roles from only minutes ago.

As they left in a sleepy stupor, they missed the small smile that adorned the silver haired headmaster's face. Dumbledore was very pleased with Crystal's latest pick of companion. The differences between them would serve for an interesting seven years, but he was certain that their friendship would remain strong throughout. In previous years there had been trouble as not all students had accepted the Faye, however Katie Bell seemed to be a different sort. One open to change and adventure, no wonder she was in Gryffindor. They would be good for each other, Katie would help Crystal become less eccentric in _everything_ she does and Crystal would make Katie freer with her emotions, knock down the hard exterior the 11 year old had built up.

Yes, they would do splendidly.

**Alright that is chapter 4 done. Yay! I want to warn you that the next chapter will skip to Katie's second year. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Second year

**Hey readers, next chapter in second year as promised. More Fred in this one as well as the rest of the team. And for all you fans of the series out there, I know that Charlie Weasley had graduated by the time Harry comes to Hogwarts but in this story he is only 2 years older than Alicia, Angelina and the twins so in this chapter he is a 5****th**** year. Also Oliver has a made up girlfriend called Charlotte. Enjoy.**

A year had passed since that eventful evening in Dumbledore's office and as he had hoped the two girls were inseparable despite their glaring differences. Crystal was well liked by most of the student body and was known for being sweet but a little bit weird (her weirdness had become less apparent thanks to the new first year Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood). Katie was also popular with her fellow students but it was well known that she had a quick temper and they tried not to provoke it.

In Katie's first week, a third year boy had tripped her in front of his friends to try and seem cool, and he had returned to his dorm with a black eye and a severely bruised ego. Since then people opted for not taunting or teasing her, but that wasn't to say she wasn't well liked. A lot of her year enjoyed her company, just not her fists.

On this particular day in second year, Katie was on her way down to the Quiddich tryouts. Ever since her first flying lesson, Katie had fallen for the sport and she was practically giddy at the chance to try out this year. After much consideration , and many discussions with Crystal, Katie opted to try out for the position of Chaser.

Ever her opposite, Crystal had dreaded the mandatory flying lessons preferring to keep her feet firmly on the ground. It always confused Katie because Crystal wasn't bad at flying, especially after 200 years of practice, but she had soon realised that the Faye couldn't be moved from her opinion on the sport.

She was currently walking on Katie's right, wittering on about how good Katie was going to be and wishing her luck while insisting she didn't need it.

'Well here we are, have fun and try not to kill yourself. I'll watch you from the stands.' Then she turned and sprinted to the nearest stand entrance, determined not to miss a thing.

Upon entering the stadium Katie went to stand with the other wannabe Chasers, and watched as the Beaters were sorted first.

There really was no competition, the candidates were all skilled but the two ginger twins stole the show. They avoided the bludgers at every turn, swinging their bats in almost feral glee as they heard the wood collide with the tough leather skinned ball. Katie, along with everyone else there, knew who the twins were, they were the Weasley twins. Fred and George. However, being in the year below them she had had limited contact, often only glimpsing them from a far as they sat huddled in a corner, with their friend Lee Jordan, plotting. Of course Katie knew now that they had been the boys she had seen on her first evening, and she knew that one of them had winked at her, but she had no way of knowing and no reason to really care.

With the Beater tryouts over, the Chasers were up. There were 12 competitors in all so they were split into four groups of three. There were then to be two matches so that each team played once. It was exhilarating, she ducked, twisted and barged her way up and down the pitch, stealing the ball and quickly passing it off to her temporary team mates. When the whistle blew the six competitors flew back to the ground red faced and panting. They watched as the other group of six started their mini match.

After the second match, Katie lined up with the other try outs and waited for the verdict from Gryffindor captain Oliver Wood. The first position went to Angelina Johnson, a girl who had played in the other match and had the highest number of goals scored overall. Katie's stomach dropped, her team had won 120: 70 but Katie herself had only scored two of the goals.

Second position was given to Alicia Spinnet who also had a high goal count. She squealed and ran to hug Angelina before thumping Oliver on the arm.

'Thanks, Ollie,' she beamed at the unamused captain.

It wasn't well known, but Oliver Wood could give one hell of a death stare if he wanted to and Alicia retreated slightly although she was still smirking.

Clearing his throat, Oliver turned back to the assembled Chasers, looking over each of them before looking down at his clipboard thoughtfully. Finally he nodded and looked back up.

'Third Chaser, Katie Bell.'

Katie felt dazed, she heard Alicia whisper 'which one is that?' but she couldn't move to answer. Just as she was struggling to return to her body she realised that an answer wasn't needed as Crystal had hurtled down from the stands and straight at her. She only just managed to stay upright as the Faye barrelled into her.

'You were amazing Katie. The sky is yours! Let's go and meet your teammates. Oh Merlin, that was impressive. You even made it look kind of fun.'

She dragged Katie toward Alicia and Angelina who were watching in amusement and introduced herself shyly.

'Oh yeah, you were great. It will be awesome to have another girl this year it was a real boys club last year. I mean they are nice guys but their hygiene is a bit iffy and their manners are shocking and don't get me started on the twin's pranks. But come on, meet them for yourself.'

'Katie, I'll meet you back in the dorm I have to go say hi to Laurie Cross.' Crystal was already sprinting away as Katie waved good bye and then followed the two girls past all the moping Gryffindors who had failed to make the team.

Oliver was chastising Fred and George for something and looking rather upset. As they approached he waved half heartedly before retreating to the stands where his girlfriend Charlotte was sitting with a warm mug of hot chocolate and a sympathetic smile.

'What's got Oliver so down?' Angelina asked as they reached the twins.

'Rubbish Seeker trials, honestly they were awful. He's upset that Charlie couldn't try out this year because of his apprenticeship in Romania.'

'Wait, WHAT? Charlie isn't on the team this year?' Alicia looked horrified and the twins giggled as Alicia blushed and Angelina comforted her disappointed friend.

'Now now Alicia, anyone might think you were crushing on our big brother,' Fred snickered and Alicia's hand sprang out to hit him on the arm. He yelped and jumped backwards as she advanced menacingly on the retreating ginger. Angelina stepped in between them.

'Alright you two, you can relieve your sexual tension later,' There were squawks of objection from both Alicia and Fred but Angelina ignored them and carried on.

'Fred, George, meet Katie the newest member of the Gryffindor team. Katie, meet the resident idiots of the school, you may have heard of them.'

'Yeah, I don't think there is anyone in this school who doesn't know who they…' Katie drifted off mid sentence as each twin went down on one knee and grabbed a hand kissing it cheekily before grinning up at the blushing second year.

'It's a pleasure to meet you milady,' they chorused.

Oliver, who was crossing the pitch with Charlotte, smacked the twins upside the head making them wince.

'Stop it you two, you're not charming and I don't want Bell to complain about harassment and make me have to kick you off of the team,' he deadpanned before wandering off to help his girlfriend put away the Quiddich trial supplies.

Fred and George stood back up nursing their battered heads. Fred was glancing confusedly at Katie and making her feel rather awkward. Just as she was wondering if she had somehow become naked without her knowledge or a massive wart had sprouted on her face, he shouted 'AHA' and waved his finger in her direction.

George, Angelina and Alicia broke off mid conversation to watch as Fred brandished his finger triumphantly in a startled Katie's face. Finally Fred broke the strange silence by announcing 'I know who you are.'

'Yeah she was introduced to you five minutes ago, are you alright? Did you get hit by a bludger or something dude?' George looked at his brother with a concerned expression but Fred waved him off.

'No you idiot, I knew I recognised her. It is you right?' Katie stood still unsure of what the hell was going on. She felt kind of awkward that she had been mistaken for someone else. Ever the eloquent speaker she responded with 'Uh… What?'

'You were the first year that snuck out on her first day last year weren't you. Even George and I waited till our second day till we broke the rules. I was impressed.' Everyone was looking at Katie with their eyebrows raised.

'Well… Yeah that was me. Me and Crystal actually.' She said sheepishly, but feeling strangely proud at the appraising look the four of them were giving her. Well Angelina and Alicia were giving her half impressed and half appalled looks which she understood when Alicia whispered to Angelina,

'Please, Merlin no. I don't think we can survive another mischief maker in this school.'

Katie finally laughed and said 'I don't think you have to worry, I'm not a trouble maker by nature.'

After a few more minutes of comfortable conversation and jokes Katie realised that she had to get back to her dorm and excused herself from the conversation. As she waved goodbye to her new friends and walked away she heard Fred call her name. She turned to see him running after her while George and the girls carried on in the other direction.

'You know, you may not be a trouble maker now, but we can fix that don't you worry. It was nice to meet you Katie Bell,' He said once he had reached her. Then he turned and ran back the way he had come.

It was only when Katie had reached her dorm that she realised he had turned her hair blue.

**So I hope this was acceptable and that there was enough going on. I'm not certain but next chapter may go on a few more years as I can't really do much while Katie is 12 and Fred is 13. Also it probably won't be very cannon, so sorry if that annoys you.**

**X KT X**


	6. Alicia and Charlie

**You hate me, I know! I hate myself! How long has it been? Ages, but maybe this will quell some of that anger you have been feeling against me. **

**Quick note to say that this isn't cannon (far, far, far from it) and this has skipped some years so that I wouldn't find it weird to write a romance between 12 year olds. I know kind of creepy, right? So I hope you understand but there will be flash backs. This chapter will also focus more on Alicia and Charlie as a gift to my friend who loves the couple. She hasn't even read this story yet so I don't know why I bother.… Sorry for those of you who don't have a clue what is going on (congrats for getting this far)**

**YEARS:**

**4****th**** year = Harry, Ron, Hermione etc**

**5****th**** year = Katie, Crystal, Helena May and Gwen**

**6****th**** year = Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia, Lee**

**7****th**** year = Charlie Weasley, Oliver Wood and Charlotte (O.C Oliver's girlfriend)**

By the time Katie was 15 and in her 5th year a lot had changed. She had blossomed into a brilliant witch, excelling in all subjects except for arithmancy which she had foolishly continued to take that year.

Crystal was still a permanent fixture in her life and they were as close as ever. They were almost like sisters, except polar opposites (though less so now) and totally different species (though that secret still remained between the girls, their friends, the teachers and Dumbledore).

The Gryffindor Quiddich team had become their main friends over the 4 years. This mainly referred to Angelina, Alicia and of course the twins. Oliver mostly spent time with his girlfriend Charlotte and Harry had a hard time staying alive let alone having time to hang out with them. So the three chasers, two beaters and the Faye had bonded quickly.

Katie had quickly realised that turning her hair blue had simply been the tip of the twin's mischievous iceberg. Fred and George had quickly realised that Katie didn't like having blue hair, especially when there was no way to get rid of it, and she had to wait till it wore off.

It took a week.

For Katie a week of weird looks and barely concealed snickers in the hallways, and spontaneously harsh detentions from Snape who seemed to have taken Katie's blue hair as a personal insult.

A week of glares, bruised shoulders and winced apologies for the twins.

But they were certainly a close knit group. Katie had quickly been introduced to Lee Jordan who was now another close friend, as well as an excellent, if slightly unorthodox, commentator.

Meeting the legendary Charlie Weasley had taken longer due to his absence in Romania. It had quickly become apparent that Alicia was crushing like the school girl she was, on the apparently unbelievably hot ex seeker. Katie, for the life of her, couldn't remember seeing this 'drool-worthy Adonis'. In fact it was three weeks after she had joined the Quiddich team that she met him for the first time.

_Flashback_

_Katie was having one of the hardest practices of her life. Oliver was working them as hard as he could because of their upcoming match against Slytherin the next week. Just as she felt that she would willingly cut of her left arm for a warm shower and some sleep, Oliver blew his whistle to signify the end of training._

_Knowing better than to rush off to the changing room, she followed the others to group around Oliver for his after match pep talk. This usually consisted of compliments, constructive criticisms and occasionally insults. None of the assembled team noticed a figure jog down from the stands and stop just outside the mud covered, exhausted huddle._

'_Angelina, Katie, great work although keep an eye on your formations they are a bit sloppy and Slytherin will look for your weaknesses. Harry, your eye for the snitch is really improving and those dives are amazing._

'_Fred, George, good aggression but I would appreciate it is you wouldn't aim directly at me every time, you are both 16 and I would appreciate it if you act like it._

'_Finally, Alicia. Well your awareness was good but you will have to come see me for some private training to work on your hand eye coordination.' Alicia looked disheartened but nodded mutely at the Quiddich captain._

'_Oliver Wood, it isn't like you to try and win over the pretty girls with the prospect of 'private training''_

_Everyone on the pitch glanced around for the speaker and all eyes fell on Charlie Weasley. Oliver glared at him briefly, but after receiving a simple smirk in answer he walked over to embrace his friend in a manly hug._

_Fred and George waved sarcastically at their brother having already seen him (he had been away in Romania for the first time on the apprenticeship). He then wandered over to the girls and threw an arm around Alicia's shoulders._

'_Hey Allie, how's my favourite girl?' He asked grinning down at her. She blushed lightly at the close contact but managed to keep her cool._

'_Just great Charlie. So, how long were you waiting behind us hoping for a hilarious way to announce yourself?'_

_He laughed loudly at the snarky comment. 'A while,' he finally answered before glancing at Angelina. 'Oh, hey _Angie_ forgot you were here. It's not like you to be so quiet.'_

'_Oh hi _Charles_ I didn't recognise you without the gaggle of girls swarming you like bees. You look better with them I would say.'_

_They glared at each other for about a minute, and just as Katie was thinking of breaking the silence, they simultaneously collapsed in to laughter. They hugged briefly before Charlie turned to Katie, arm once again around Alicia's shoulders. _

'_Ah, the new girl I presume. Charlie Weasley, a pleasure to meet you.' He reached out a hand to shake hers._

_She met it mid way. 'Katie Bell, pleasure's all mine.'_

And that had been the first time that Katie had met Charlie but certainly not the last. They became good friends, but there was still a three year age difference. I didn't seem to bother him though and he treated her as an equal.

However there were problems with being Charlie's friend. Mainly, your popularity with the female population of the school plummets. It is instead replaced with a constant feeling of being watched by jealous eyes just because she was friends with _the_ Charlie Weasley. That had died down over the years but there were occasional incidents where she was tempted to punch some snarky girl in the face after some equally snarky comment.

But it was all bearable because of how nice he truly was. And because of the fact that she knew that Alicia had it so much worse. Not only did she get openly dirty looks from almost every girl in school, she had to suffer through months of her crush, and eventually boyfriend, being absent away with the dragons in Romania.

Everyone who knew the pair, knew they would end up a couple but Katie was one of the lucky ones who witnessed the moment it all began.

_Flashback:_

_It was nearing the end of Angelina and Alicia's 5__th__ year and Katie's 4__th__ year. There was only a month left and exams had finished two days previously. The three girls were in an otherwise vacant dorm room belonging to the older pair. Crystal was out with the twins and Lee who had recently found out that Crystal was a Faye. _

_She had decided that she hated to lie to the people close to her and had felt they would understand. They did. However it meant that Fred and George wanted to explore her magic in the hope of forming new joke products to sell. They monopolised a lot of the Faye's time, and she was too polite to tell them to 'stuff it'._

_The three remaining girls had gathered together to share their relationship woes in the hope of sharing the pain. It was admittedly a depressing plan but they had nothing else to do and they had stolen (more like been forcedly supplied with) chocolate and ice cream from the kitchens._

_Katie had recently realised that she _wasn't_ getting spontaneously sick every time Fred came near her; she had butterflies and a massive crush on the quirky ginger. She was a romance novice and had resigned herself to pining from a far. _

_Angelina had been dating a 6__th__ year called Carter Newberry until she had found out that he had been cheating on her with Paula Franco a Hufflepuff 6__th__ year. She had kneed him in the groin but left with a severely bruised heart. _

_And of course Alicia missed Charlie._

'… _I just know that he's out in Romania and some dragon slut is all over him, and I am here just wallowing in stupid unrequited love.' She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged the pillow she was holding. She vaguely noticed the sympathetic looks the other two were giving her as tears began to cloud her vision. _

'… _So… Is a 'dragon slut' and slutty dragon or a slut who works with dragons? Because I really don't think Charlie would be up for bestiality no matter how slutty the dragon was.' _

_Katie's comment was met with a snigger from Angelina and a pillow in the face from Alicia. However there was laughter in Alicia's eyes and Katie congratulated herself on a job well done. That was until Angelina ruined the slightly lighter mood._

'_Hey Allie, I don't think he's in Romania making out with a fellow dragon enthusiast, I'm sure you are just being paranoid.' Alicia stopped smiling and fell back into gloomy, lonely thoughts._

_Katie glared at Angelina. What was the point of bringing her down again after she was cheering up? Angelina caught the glare, smiled knowingly and nodded to the French windows that led to the balcony. Katie glanced over, still glaring, before she stilled, eyes widening slightly and eyebrows shooting up. There was Charlie Weasley dismounting from his broom onto the 5__th__ year girl's balcony. He paused, flicked his shoulder length, wind swept, auburn red hair out of his eyes, and looked up. Upon meeting Katie's startled gaze he winked and mouthed 'Alicia?' Katie nodded. He smiled_

'_Yeah, how do you even know he is in Romania?' Katie said abruptly. Alicia looked quizzically at her brunette friend before asking._

'_What? Are you on Crack? Of course he is in Romania making out with pretty little dragon riders who actually have something in common with him!'_

'_Who's making out with 'pretty little dragon riders'?' A male voice asked._

_Alicia gasped and spun on her bed, launching her pillow at the intruder. Charlie caught it with ease and lobbed it back onto the bed._

'_Not the way I thought I would be greeted. Where's the parade, the fireworks… the hug?'_

'_CHARLIE!' Alicia was in Charlie's arms within seconds. He spun her round in a circle before placing her on her feet again._

'_That's more like it Allie, now why are you talking about kissing ' pretty little dragon riders'?'_

_Silence_

'_Allie?'_

_More silence_

'_Alicia Catherine Spinnet I demand an answer.'_

'_She thinks that was what you were doing right now and while you were away.' Angelina supplied._

'_Oh… well I don't know about dragon riders but there is a pretty little thing I'm interested in.' He had pulled Alicia closer as she attempted to loosen his hold on her._

'_Charlie, let go. Why are you even here?' She couldn't keep the hurt from her voice._

'_To find my pretty little thing of course.' _

'_Then go.'_

'_Why?' He suddenly looked hurt and unsure._

'_She's probably waiting for you.' Alicia sighed, and Charlie's confidence came rushing back._

'_I know and I am really sorry for that.' And with that her pulled her closer and kissed her. There was a very amusing noise of shock from Alicia before she melted into the kiss._

_Needless to say, after the initial happiness and 'awwwing' Angelina and Katie felt a bit awkward and out of place. They left to give the new couple a bit of privacy. As the shut the door they saw the two of them resting their foreheads together and gasping for breath. Charlie was beaming like the happiest wizard alive and Alicia was so red she couldn't have had blood anywhere else in her body. She too looked undeniably happy._

Now in 6th and 7th year, Alicia and Charlie were still going strong, despite the flirtation of other girls. It was clear to anyone with half a brain that he was hopelessly in love with Alicia and Visa Versa.

Angelina had gotten over the Carter Newberry escapade and had delighted in learning that Paula Franco had cheated on him with Derek Cross, a Slytherin 7th year. She was still single but happy.

Katie however was still pining over Fred, but that story will continue next chapter.

**So… what did you think. I know it was a different couple but I got carried away. I love this couple now. Adorable! For a full Alicia / Charlie story, try **_**Alicia Spinnet and the dragon keeper**_** by **_**TheChelseaNumber2.**_


	7. Changes

Thunder pounded the castle roof, and all the occupants were spending their Friday night cosy inside the school common rooms and dorms. The storm was so bad that even the stone gargoyles that littered the rooftops were gripping their platforms in fear of being blown away.

Katie and Crystal sat in their empty dorm. Both girls were slumped together on Katie's bed with the curtains drawn for privacy. They were discussing the topic of the year, boys. Well, Crystal was. Katie wasn't. She was still hung up on Fred, beautiful, gorgeous, totally out of her league, Fred. She sighed not listening to her friend blathering on about a really attractive 7th year who winked at her.

'You're gone into Weasley land again aren't you?' It wasn't unkind, in fact Crystal said it with such sympathy that Katie wondered how much of a lovesick loser she was.

'That obvious?' she muttered back bringing up a pillow to bury her face in. Crystal smiled softly as she heard the muffled groan push its way through the fabric. She placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder, applying slight pressure to encourage her to remove herself from the pillow.

'Tell me something I don't understand, why only Fred?'

'Huh?'

'Why do you only like Fred? Why not George?'

Katie pondered the question briefly.

'Well, Fred is Fred. He's different to George, so the idea of dating either one is different as well. Dating Fred is like a dream, it makes me feel all tingly, dating George is weird and gross,' she grimaced. 'Don't get me wrong, I love the guy in a totally platonic way, but the idea of kissing him freaks me out. They're twins in looks but not in personality, and I guess that is what changes it for me. Anyway it doesn't really matter, I wouldn't be able to get either of them.' Katie smiled sadly as she realised the truth she had just put into words.

'Sorry, that sucks.' They weren't exactly words of comfort but they somehow made Katie feel better any way.

The next day was the day that everything changed.

Coming down to breakfast with Crystal, they went to join their group. Katie seated herself between Crystal and Alicia like normal and spooned a large serving of bacon onto her plate.

'Hi guys,' she said as she bent down to scoop a bit of bacon off of the floor. As she came back up she realised that there had been no answer. She stared in silence upon reappearing.

Everyone had left the table and were walking away down the table in stony silence. Only Crystal remained beside her looking as confused as she was. To their left the plates of food had been abandoned, still half full. The two girls looked at each other in confusion.

Wordlessly they leapt to their feet and began to pursue their friends. They caught up to them in the entrance hall, slightly out of breath from trying to catch up.

'Wait guys, what are you doing?' Katie received no answer only five cold stares and one tinged with hurt.

'Why are you mad at us?' Crystal's voice trembled as she looked back into angry eyes. Angelina's softened as she saw the trembling Faye's reaction.

'We're not mad at _you_ Crys, we're mad at _her_.' The eyes turned to Katie and she looked back in confusion.

'What? Why?'

Instead of a response, Fred just stuck a hand into his robes. When he retracted it he was holding a small black square. He tossed it at her violently and she only caught it, instead of getting hit in the face by it, because of her chaser reflexes. She glanced at it and then at Fred in shock.

'Leave us alone Katie, you're two-faced and a bitch. Go find friends who can put up with you because I know that I for one can't even look at you right now.' And with those biting words he stomped off down the hallway with the others following. Katie didn't notice Fred's shoulders slump down in pain as he practically ran away. She definitely didn't notice the single tear of betrayal that slid down his cheek.

Instead she was focusing on running. Running as far away as she could.

She ignored the anguished cries that Crystal threw after her and sprinted as hard and fast as she could. Eventually she found herself in a cubical of the girl's toilets with strands of hair plastered to her face by the free flowing tears. She sunk down to the ground grasping her robes in distress.

Something plastic hit the tiled floor and the sound shocked Katie out of crying if only briefly. Peering through bleary, stinging eyes, Katie saw the black box that had been thrown at her by Fred. The crying resumed as she remembered the harsh words that he had spoken, the even harsher things that the words meant. She reached blindly for the box and brought it up to eye level.

I had a series of buttons on it labelled from 1 to 10. A little green light flashed beneath the button marked 1. Full of apprehension Katie pressed the button and a voice filled the air. It was a voice she recognised all too well.

It was her own.

'…George is weird and gross.' Katie had stopped crying, she was too shocked to cry. She pressed the button again. And again. She just kept pressing the button unable to believe the situation. She felt like someone was going to jump out and yell 'JUST KIDDING!' and then everyone would laugh because there was way that this was happening. But it was.

How was it that five small words out of context could cause so much trouble?

**Been a while I know. Not that good I know. Still fun to write though.**


	8. Hate Makes People Ugly

**Guess who's back… ME!**

No one would talk to Katie. She felt invisible. Practically the whole school knew about the recording, so practically the whole school hated her. It was like she was a leper; even some of the teachers avoided her when they could, never picking on her in class, never asking her to stay behind to help clean up. Katie supposed that this was what happened when you insulted one of the most popular, well liked and influential people in the school.

Except, she hadn't insulted anyone.

The only person that would still talk to her was Crystal; she was the only one who knew the context of the recording. For her, Katie was grateful. She was sure that she would have gone mad if it had not been for the ever bubbly Faye and her over the top tendencies. That being said, even Crystal was starting to droop under the weight of it all. She got nowhere near as much criticism and harsh words as Katie did, but she got a fair amount just by staying with her. She had even lost their other friends.

At the beginning the hostility was only directed at Katie. Crystal was welcomed to them as she always had been, but at a point that had changed. It was probably when they had figured out that Crystal wasn't just going to ditch Katie as they had, and when they got tired of her defending the 'betrayer' as the student body seemed to have nicknamed Katie, they stopped talking to her as well.

The worst thing was that Katie understood why they were doing this. She knew that if it had been anyone else she would be on that band wagon faster than you could say 'what an evil bitch'. And she wasn't surprised that no one believed her when she denied the insult, no one stuck around long enough to hear the whole story.

Actually that wasn't the worst thing; the worst thing was seeing Fred. At first he had looked angry, now he just looked betrayed, hurt and confused. He couldn't look her in the eye anymore and that just about broke her heart. The same heart that still longed for him every moment they were apart. Nowadays, that meant all the time. Why her life had taken such a hideously dramatic twist was beyond her.

Unfortunately it was about to get worse.

Katie was on her way to lunch to meet up with Crystal when she saw it. She had been staring at the ground as eyes followed her every step, she didn't need to look up to know they were filled with hostility. It had been a week, a whole week of this torture. Tears welled up in Katie's eyes as a cocky little second year leaned into her as she passed and mock whispered to his friends,

'Hey guys, isn't Katie Bell just _weird and gross_?' Yeah, it was juvenile, and yeah, it still hurt, as did the chuckles from those who heard. She hurried past them, clutching her books and holding back tears. She stared at the stonework of the floor so hard that she failed to notice the 6th year Slytherin who stuck out her foot and tripped Katie up. She let out a whimper and her books flew everywhere as she freed her hands to break her decent. As the stone collided with skin, Katie felt her wrist jar painfully and her knees slam into the hard floor, but it cushioned the blow to the rest of her body. Unfortunately she couldn't enjoy the sound of pain that the Slytherin let out as Katie's potions book slammed into her stomach, because from this vantage point Katie could see the doors to the great hall.

And Katie could see Fred kissing another girl.

Suddenly the pain in her wrist was gone, so was the one in her knee. All that was left was a pain in her heart, but she doubted that that would go away anytime soon. For a brief moment Katie hoped that maybe it was George kissing the girl, after all the pair were quite far away and obscuring each other's face, but that was not the case as Angelina and George rounded the corner while the thought was just forming and proceeded to shout his name.

The shout caused Fred to use his grip on the girl's shoulders to push her away forcefully and mutter a few words to her before walking away with his twin and Angelina. As he disappeared through the doors to the great hall, the girl he had been kissing turned towards where Katie was still kneeling. A smug smile adorned her face as she took in the fallen girl surrounded by books and crowing pupils. And everyone knows that a smug smile looks ugly on Gwen Carter.

**Nooooooooooooo, Fred how could you?**


	9. It Can't Go On Like This

**Roll up, roll up and read my chapter,**

**My aim is to engross you, with me as your captor,**

**I confess it is romance that is my muse,**

**As our problem has reached its inevitable fuse.**

**So don't worry I'm fixing the problem that dwells,**

**Read on little readers and see for yourselves.**

Things were getting out of control. It had been a month, a whole damn month and still Katie and Fred weren't talking. Katie wasn't even trying anymore, she couldn't look at Fred without hurting so she had given up on doing that to herself.

But after a terrible month the rest of the school seemed to be cooling off, and although they weren't tripping over themselves to hang out with Katie, there were no longer bitter scowls thrown across the hall or scathing words spat at Katie as she passed by in the hallways. For that the she was grateful. Only the closest of Fred's friends remained on the offensive, refusing to back down, but now, after a month of anger, even they were beginning to lose steam.

It was noticeable in the way that Lee waved hello to Katie as he left the greenhouses after a particularly gruelling detention, before catching himself and fixing a half-hearted scowl on his face, trampling off in the other direction. There had also been the time that Katie had tripped over her own feet and had been saved from the fast approaching ground by Alicia who had promptly righted her, then stomped off to the dorms. Katie had distinctly heard her whisper 'What just _happened_?' to herself as she passed.

All this raised her hopes ever more steadily as the days passed and the torments lessened. This hope was somewhat dashed when Katie's birthday rolled around and the only presents she got were from her parents, her brother and Crystal, no one even acknowledged her when she sat in saddened silence eating the birthday cake the house elves had baked for her (as was custom) in the middle of dinner. She had had to eat the whole thing alone as well because Crystal was in the hospital wing after attempting to create special fireworks for Katie's birthday. She was sure she had to have been the saddest looking student in the whole of Hogwarts history.

Katie wasn't the only one who thought this.

Katie wandered down the hallway on her way to the library to meet Crystal. The Faye had wanted to meet to discuss their potions homework as she seemed to be incapable of following instructions from a book competently. Katie sighed, just wanting to go to bed and curl up, hoping that somehow that would erase the past month. It hadn't worked yet, but who knew…

A force collided with Katie's shoulder, pushing her off balance. Toppling to her right, Katie felt a gust of wind stroke her face as a nearby door was flung open. It was too late when Katie realised that the door had been in the path of her falling, and thus, with it being gone, she was falling into whatever room the door had been concealing. If she remembered rightly, it was a transfiguration class room.

Falling to her knees, hands in front to brace her fall, she couldn't help but feel a bit of unwelcome déjà vu. Then the door slammed closed behind her.

She paused.

She looked up.

She bolted for the door, already knowing it was futile.

'Don't bother.' Two words, two tiny, slightly bitter words. But still, they were the only words Fred had spoken to her in a month. Somehow this frostiness was worse.

Hanging her head Katie turned around to see where he was. He was a couple of meters away, leaning against one of the desks. Katie could see that she had been right and that this was a transfiguration classroom as she had expected. Fred had his arms crossed over his chest defensively and the corners of his mouth were pulled down to convey displeasure at the situation but oddly his eyes were blank, as if he had schooled his features into an unreadable mask. Like he was hiding his emotions, that seemed pointless, Katie knew what he thought of her. The silence was too heavy and she had been staring too long, to break the tension Katie asked,

'Who...?'

'Crystal.' The one word was spat out as if it were polluting Fred's mouth and needed to be discarded, as if it were something ugly and damaging.

Crystal? Katie loved the girl but what the hell did she think she was doing locking Katie and Fred in a room together with no obvious way to esca… _Of course_! That was the idea. Gathering her courage Katie turned to look Fred directly in the eyes.

'Fred,' she began.

'Oh so you finally have something to say to me? Am I not weird and gross anymore? Have you finally sunk low enough that you can have a conversation with us lesser beings without feeling dirty and…'

'SHUT UP!' Even Katie looked surprised at her own outburst and Fred was shocked into silence mid-sentence. Making a conscious effort to calm down and hold back the tears gathering behind her eyes, Katie stated again.

'Fred, you are going to shut up and you are going to listen to me like you haven't for the past month.' He went to speak but she just held up her hand and added 'Please?' Reluctantly he nodded before looking past her head and fixing his eyes onto the far wall, it was an obvious sign for Katie to start.

'You think that I am this terrible person who lied to you and all my friends but I'm not.' Silence. 'What you heard was wrong, or rather, it was out of context and I don't know where you got it from or why they gave it to you like that, but it's not true.' Fred shifted where he stood, his carefully placed mask slipping as he processed the new information. Still he was silent in response.

'I love your brother and I am sorry that I offended all of you. I heard the tape, I know it sounded bad, and I accept that from your point of view I deserve everything I got, but I can't live paying the price for something I didn't do. It hurts too much. I can't walk down the hallway without people poking fun at me; I can't study without people trying to steal my pens and parchment. God Fred, I had to eat my entire birthday cake on my own, do you know how fucking _depressing_ that is? It's just not FAIR.'

It was getting too much, the tears were leaking over, and still Fred said nothing. His eyes were pained but Katie was too far gone to notice. She sank to the floor, finally letting everything out. She embraced the pain and allowed the loud sobs to rack her body as she hugged her knees to her chest. As the sobs quietened, Fred finally spoke.

'What was it? The context?'

'What?' Katie sniffed looking up at the motionless figure towering over her. His eyes were closed and his muscles tense.

'You said that the recording was out of context. What was the context?'

'Oh. Well I didn't say that George was weird and gross, I said that the idea of _dating_ George was weird and gross, you know compared to the idea of dating…' She cut herself off, fearing she had gone too far. She had.

'Compared to the idea of dating…Who?' It was a deadly question; she didn't know how he would take the answer. Slowly he opened his eyes to peer down at her where she was still curled in a ball. The longer she waited the more curious he looked. Her mouth kept snapping open and shut as she was unable to formulate a coherent answer. Finally she whispered,

'Compared to dating you.'

**It's cruelty, I know, to leave you like this,**

**But a chance like this, I just couldn't miss.**

**To create atmosphere and build up the tension,**

**And plus, it gives me a writing extension, **

**As I write very slowly and only in a blue moon,**

**Keep wishing dear readers and I'll write you more soon.**


	10. Hearts That Are Broken Can Be Mended

**I'm back, and so quick, it must boggle your mind,**

**But a more fitting pass time I just couldn't find,**

**This rhyming intro is becoming the norm,**

**As intros seem redundant in all other forms.**

**But forget about that, it is just mindless rambling,**

**I'm betting it sucks, but I'm not one for gambling.**

**The chapter, as promised, is here in its glory,**

**So stop reading the intro, get on with the story!**

'Compared to dating you.'

The secret was out.

It's a lie when they tell you that honesty is the best policy, that it feels good to tell the truth. Katie didn't feel good, she felt like she needed to get the hell out of the suddenly stuffy room.

And maybe a bucket to throw up in.

Neither were a viable option, so instead she just tugged her knees closer to her chest, not caring about her muscles aching in protest, and squeezing her eyes closed allowing a drop of moisture to run from her eyelashes, down her cheek, before slipping off and breaking into a tiny puddle on the floor. Other than the almost soundless sound of her tear hitting the floor, the only sound in the room was the sound of breathing. Even then Katie could swear that it was only _her_ breathing anyway, which meant that Fred was so quiet he wasn't even breathing.

Maybe he had left.

No, he couldn't have. The door was still locked and she would have heard him move towards it even if he had gone to check.

Maybe he had died of shock.

That idea gave Katie mixed feelings. On the one hand it got her out of the hideously awkward situation she was currently in. On the other hand, she didn't particularly want her friend, and the guy she was currently in love with, to die. Especially not from finding out she liked him.

Either way, Katie didn't look up. She simply stayed curled up in her ball mentally breaking down. She couldn't bear to think about how he was going to react. First of all she was the horrible girl who hates and insults his brother behind his back. His _twin_ brother. Now she is also the girl who spontaneously professes her love, or rather her like for a boy after ranting at him, and then promptly curls into a ball like a five year old and stays there for… an indeterminable period of time. See, isn't she just the perfect catch?

There was a rustle of fabric and Katie squeezed her eyes closed as hard as she could one last time, before tentatively opening one eye and then the other, blinking as her eyes got used to the light. Fred was crouched down in front of her, sitting back on his heels. Subconsciously she shuffled backwards slightly, pulling her feet back towards her. In their new positions they were almost the same height, Fred being just a bit taller naturally.

He was staring at her. Looking her in the eyes for the first time in a month. Despite the nervousness that was coursing through her veins at the slightly steely look still in his eyes; she couldn't help but marvel at him. She had forgotten how amazing his eyes were. Even cold like they were now, the blue seemed to shimmer and glint like ice trapped in a ray of sunshine and she knew that those eyes could look just like the sparkling Caribbean oceans when he smiled. She hadn't seen that in a while. But what made her curious was the look of confusion hidden just beneath the surface of the purposefully blank mask. Finally his features shifted and his hand tentatively reached out to touch her chin, gently prompting her to look at him. She somewhat reluctantly conceded waiting for him to speak.

'You're not lying are you?' It wasn't really a question but after a second she shook her head anyway, unable to comprehend the direction that the conversation had taken. The coldness was gone from his eyes, but as she noticed this the eyes in question widened and the hand snapped away from her face. In a matter of seconds Fred was on his feet, a meter away, with his hands covering his eyes.

'Oh my god.' She heard him say, his voice muffled by his hand. The hands fell away as he looked at her once more, his overly expressive eyes pained.

'Oh my god Katie.' He repeated in a whisper, only this time he carried on. 'I can't believe we did this to you, I can't believe _I _did this to you. We were fucking monsters to you this whole time, and you had done nothing wrong… Fuck, and you tried to explain it as well, that day by the lake when Angelina threw your textbook in the water, and again in the common room when those first years set you're robe on fire. We never listened, you tried and we _never fucking listened_.'

He was shouting now, his hands gesturing wildly and his speech running so fast that the words were melding together. Katie could only watch as her friend, who had only minutes ago been nothing more than a breathing statue, became a wreck at the thought of hurting her. In a way it made her heart warm up, but only for a moment before it tore at it like a wild animal. Slowly she pushed up from the ground and cautiously approached the yelling boy.

'… and I told you I hated you. I never hated you Katie, I never could. You just hurt me, but I hurt you right back, I hurt you worse because you never hurt me, not intentionally, but me, I did it on purpose. I made you upset for no reason and now you probably hate me and…' He trailed off as she grasped his still wildly gesturing hands in hers and held them still. He was breathing as if he had just run a marathon. She idly wondered if he had paused for breath that entire time.

'Fred, I don't hate you.'

'You don't?' She shook her head. 'You should, I'm a horrible person.'

'I don't think so; you were just protecting your brother. The tape was pretty realistic, in fact it was real, it just skipped out some major information.'

'I am so sorry Katie.' He hung his head in shame.

'It's alright; I forgive you, I am just so happy to have you back. So please could you stop beating yourself up and be your normal self. I have been deprived of my Fred fix for the last month and it's driving me insane.'

He grinned and hugged her to his chest, slightly too hard in a way that was uniquely Fred. She smiled, completely at peace and imagining the pieces of her heart fusing back together in a way that was unique to that organ. If any other organ shatters, you are screwed, but your heart, that can be fixed.

'So, you say you want me to be my 'normal self'. What does that comprise of?' He queried as he released Katie from his death grip.

'Well,' she considered his question. 'I guess you are friendly, sometimes too friendly, hilariously funny, wonderfully clever but with no idea how to use it academically, an awesome beater, a loving brother, sarcastic as hell, charming, confident to the point of arrogance, spontaneous, mmph…'

A pair of lips swallowed the 'the greediest person I have ever met' she was about to say. It was an odd feeling, mostly because she was so unprepared for the attack, and also because the kiss was barely there as if he was testing the waters. In fact that was what he _was_ doing. She smirked, uncertainty and cautious were not two words often used to describe the Weasley twins, Fred in particular. It was rather endearing, as was the blush that littered his cheeks when he pulled back, shifting nervously. He caught her curious glance and noticed that she wasn't shoving him away or hurling abuse about lip rape at him so he risked a cocky grin.

'You said I was spontaneous, I was just doing what you said and being my 'normal self'.'

She shook her head in exasperation, but she couldn't help the pain that rocketed through her at his revelation.'

'Seriously? _That's_ why you did that?'

'Well that, and I've wanted to do it for the past year.'

The rockets of pain vanished. She froze. What was happening? Did he just…? Was he…? A whole…? _Huh_?

'Am I completely insane or did you just say that you have wanted to kiss me for the past _year_!'

'Ummm, yeah? I think that was what I said, I can't tell, you make my heart beat so fast Katie and so loudly that it is hard to hear much else.' He dramatically threw his hands over his heart, but his nervous laugh told her he was only half joking.

'Fred Weasley, stop being an idiot.' And with that Katie threw her arms around his neck, briefly smiled at the half shocked half insulted face he pulled, and drew him down for a proper kiss. At first it was messy and their noses kept bumping, but when Fred angled his head to the right and slipped his hand into her hair, it became just about the most wonderful thing she had ever felt.

As soon as they split apart Fred sank down onto on knee still holding one of her hands, and, in an act that was strangely reminiscent of the first time they met, he planted a kiss on the hand he held before looking up through his slightly-too-long fringe. Grinning the grin the twins were renound for, he asked,

'Katie Bell, would you do me the absolute honour of being my girlfriend even though I am the most horrible excuse for a friend in the world and you would be better off dating Malfoy for I am below even him on the level of crap people right now?'

And who could say no to that?

Well, Katie couldn't, she didn't like Malfoy like that anyway. Instead she feigned disinterest before shrugging her shoulders and muttering 'Sure, why not?'

Leaping to his feet, he grasped her round the middle and lifted her into the air before spinning around in circles. Laughing with glee that she hadn't felt in months, Katie found herself silently hoping that that wasn't the last time she got to see Fred down on one knee asking her an important question.

If that day ever came, she knew her answer.

**Finally together, let's hope that it lasts,**

**I'm kidding, that drama is all in the past.**

**But fear not, as I promise this isn't the end,**

**As I'm writing an epilogue to follow the trend,**

**And still there are riddles that haven't been solved,**

**Like, who taped the tape from which problems evolved.**

**And what will now happen with all the ex-friends,**

**As Katie and Fred seek to make amends,**

**For the cruel words that weren't really cruel after all,**

**Just manipulated confessions that sparked off a brawl.**

**And what was the purpose of the damaging words,**

**Aimed to obviously hit where it hurts**

**For now I must declare that my lips are sealed**

**But the next chapter promises that all is revealed.**


	11. Epilogue

**An epilogue as promised to tie up loose strings,**

**And discover the answers to unanswered things,**

**To solve all your riddles and calm all your nerves,**

**That is the purpose this epilogue serves.**

**So who is the culprit that possessed the required stealth,**

**Don't look at me, read for yourself.**

Epilogue

Crystal had returned to check on the pair's progress every twenty minutes while they were locked in that room, and although it had been her idea to lock them in the room together in the first place, she was still surprised to return and find them cuddled together against the wall, Katie laughing at a joke she'd just been told and Fred's fingers carding through her hair, an affectionate smile on his lips. Needless to say she had quickly unlocked the door and dashed in to congratulate the new couple and share some very girly squeals with Katie, Fred refused to join in.

But now the trio were sitting in a slowly filling up Great Hall waiting eagerly for food. It turns out pouring your heart out really makes you hungry. Fred and Katie were on one side of the table and Crystal was sitting opposite them. She couldn't actually see, but Crystal was fairly positive that the couple were holding hands under the table. She could definitely see the way that Katie was leaning in towards Fred, almost subconsciously, and the way Fred kept glancing at her and smiling in a sort of bemused way, as if he was convinced that this wasn't completely real. It was adorable.

'What is going on here?'

Turning around Katie could see that they were no longer alone. Angelina, Alicia, Charlie, George, Lee, Gwen and Helena May were stood behind them. It was hard to tell who had spoken, one of the girls almost certainly, but all seven onlookers had confusion all over their faces.

'Why is she sitting with you? Is she bothering you Fred? Katie, just save whatever dignity you have left and leave, don't make this harder than it has to be.'

Ah, so it had been Gwen who had spoken, a look of concern twisted with anger on her face. She moved her arm out in an attempt to pull Katie to her feet but was intercepted by Fred who had grasped her wrist in mid-air. Curiously she looked at him, then at Katie, and finally she looked at Fred again.

There was hostility in his eyes but it was a shock that it was no longer pointed at Katie. With more force than was strictly necessary Fred pushed the hand away.

'Fred, what's going on?' This time it was George.

'Turns out we've all been tricked. The recording wasn't quite as black and white as it was made out to seem. It was missing something, oh what's it called?... Oh yeah, context! The context that would have proved that Katie is actually innocent.' By the end the words were being hissed out, Fred's voice low and dangerous. The daggers were aimed at Gwen, she was sensible enough to shrink back slightly. His tense posture sagged after a minute of intense staring.

'Why did you do it Gwen? Honestly I don't understand.' And you could hear it in his voice that he really _didn't_ understand, and he desperately wanted to.

'Do what? What did I do?' She squeaked as he stood, his height giving him an intimidation factor. He sneered.

'Don't play dumb Gwen, you tricked me with that voice recorder, you knew it wasn't what it seemed and yet you offered no explanation. And now you have the gall to play _innocent_, well it's not working, you can fuck off because…'

'_Wait_!'

Fred turned to Katie, surprised at her outburst just as he was getting into the main part of his rant. From where he was standing he could practically _see_ the cogs turning in his girlfriend's head. God that felt good to think, _girlfriend_, finally. He snapped back to reality as Katie started talking.

'I've shared a dorm with Gwen for five years, I have a lot of the same classes as her, I know her pretty well. It couldn't have been her. That tape recorder was of muggle origin, it had batteries for god's sake, and I took muggle studies for three years with Gwen, she can barely work out a compass let alone a tape recorder.'

'But I told you, Gwen was the one who gave me the tape recorder, it's not like she's walking around with an evil… twin.'

All eyes fell on Helena May. Sweet, shy, _innocent_, Helena May, who turned out to be not-so sweet, not so shy and nowhere near as innocent as they had all thought. The girl in question looked thoroughly shocked at how quickly the blame had fallen on her. He mouth opened, closed, opened and then she drew her bottom lip into her mouth to bite it in frustration. Fred sighed.

'Alright Helena, I can't be arsed to do the entire angry speech again so how about I just ask why did you do it?'

'I'm an angry person.' She confessed after a brief pause, her shoulders shrugging lazily to support her answer.

Then she leaned in as if divulging some big secret and whispered '…and it was fun.' Taking in the shocked faces of her ex-friends, Helena May laughed a laugh which made her sound just as demented as she obviously was, then, lurching forward she pressed her lips to Fred's for a second before pulling away and stalking off up the aisle between tables. She left behind her 9 very disturbed people, one of whom looked as though he might faint or throw up. There was silence, well relatively as they were still in the packed Great Hall.

'What. A. _Bitch_.' Charlie broke the silence, his head shaking from side to side in disbelief. That broke the tension and launched them into a discussion about the past month. Katie insisted that apologies weren't necessary, she was just happy to have her friends back, but they kept getting thrown at her anyway. Gwen had been oddly quiet.

'I always knew my sister was psycho, but I'm just surprised that you would think_ I _would do that. I know I'm a bitch, and Katie I'm not your biggest fan, but I don't make a habit of ruining people's lives.' The table turned to look at Gwen, laughter at a joke Lee had told, dying on their tongues.

'I'm really sorry Gwen. We… I shouldn't have accused you.' The sincerity was tangible. After a few seconds of intense staring at the ginger now seated next to her, she broke into a surprisingly genuine smile.

'Hey, that's alright. Oh and by the way, congrats on the relationship you two, I'm glad you won't be moping round our dorm anymore.' Katie smiled at that, everyone else looked on in shock not having noticed the hands clenched together under the table, but certainly noticing the blush on the couple's cheeks. They were suddenly bombarded with questions.

'Thanks a lot!' Katie mouthed angrily at Gwen, only the small smile that followed showing the falseness of the scornful words. Gwen looked back surprised at the friendly-ish banter. Finally she mouthed back, a smile on her face as well.

'You're welcome. Pay back's a bitch.'

**It's finished, it's over, and it's come to an end,**

**With our heroine making an unlikely friend.**

**That was a twist even **_**I**_** didn't expect,**

**That she'd form a bond with the prime suspect.**

**But the trouble had ended and the story is through,**

**So I suppose all that's left is for you to review**


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